On Monday night, Aston Villa host West Ham at Villa Park in the Premier League, as the home side look to pick up just their second league win of the season.
Recent meetings these two teams have been tight affairs and three of the last six games in all competitions between the pair have ended all-square. West Ham have shaded recent meetings with two wins, compared to Villa’s one.
Aston Villa (Odds of 13/8 for victory)
The Villans have made a poor start to life back in the Premier League following promotion from the Championship last season. In fact, they have only won once and suffered defeat in their other top-flight games.
Last time out in the top-flight, Dean Smith’s side suffered a 1-0 defeat at Crystal Palace. The poor start to the campaign means that Villa have lost 15 of their last 17 outings in the Premier League dating back to their previous spell in the top-flight.
The Villans early season poor form has them 18th place in the table, a position they will be determined to escape by the end of the season.
A 2-0 victory over Everton in their last home match ended a winless run on home soil in the top-flight of eight games, including seven defeats. The result and the clean sheet will have come as a relief to the Midlander’s, as they had previously conceded at least two goals in seven of their nine home matches.
West Ham (Odds of 6/4 for victory)
West Ham have recovered well from an opening day 5-0 home defeat by Manchester City, as the Hammers are now three league games unbeaten. Manuel Pellegrini’s side has now also recorded back-to-back top-flight wins over Watford and last out Norwich City.
The Hammers form dating back to last season has been actually been decent, as the Irons have now won five of their last eight league matches, with the loss against the Citizens their only defeat in the eight-match run of games.
The visitors will once again look to French striker Sebastien Haller to provide their attacking threat, as the former Eintracht Frankfurt star has scored three times in his last two appearances in the English top-flight.
Pellegrini’s team are four games unbeaten on their travels in the Premier League, having recorded three victories. However, the visitors have failed to keep a clean sheet in 12 away matches in the English top-flight.
[reviewTableLarge ids=”620,639,642″ title=”Best betting sites to place bet on this game are:”]Prediction
Villa will be desperate to get more points on the board in this encounter after their poor start to the campaign. The Villans need to make Villa Park a fortress again if they are to enjoy a successful season.
Unfortunately for Villa, it seems that things are starting to come together for the visitors, especially in attack. The Irons have exciting attacking options, who can cause any team problems.
I can see the Hammers enjoying another good day in front of goal in the Midlands. Therefore, the over 2.5 goals at odds of 8/13 does not look like an awful punt. The away win at odds of 6/4 is our other recommendation, as West Ham look to now be making progress under Manuel Pellegrini.
Verdict: Back the away win at 6/4 and/or the over 2.5 goals scored at odds of 8/13 (All odds from Bet365). Don’t forget if you are looking to place a bet check out our betting page, while also you can find more betting advice at our new soccer predictions page.
Who will come out on top between Aston Villa and West Ham?
